


Never No Tears For That Sucker

by embarrassing_myself



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: 5+1 Things, Abuse, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Happy Ending, Implied/Referenced Abuse, M/M, Swearing, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-26
Updated: 2019-06-26
Packaged: 2020-05-21 06:30:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,650
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19368796
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/embarrassing_myself/pseuds/embarrassing_myself
Summary: The five times Harley had to wreck someone and the one time he didn’t need to.Or in other words, Harley has a bone to pick with every boy who's ever hurt Peter Parker.





	Never No Tears For That Sucker

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! I took a break from writing my other story and came up with this. It's a little darker than what I usually write, or at least I feel that it is anyway. Not sure I'd ever write anything in this style again but it was a quick fun little one shot! Also I might have taken some inspiration for the YouTube series Wyane.

1

When Harley moved into the tower he expected it to be busy and chaotic. Pepper was a business woman who had a company to run 24/7 and Tony was still saving the day every other week. Not only that but Peter was there too. The sixteen year old who was balancing sophomore year, decathlon, and being Spiderman on the side. So, needless to say Harley was expecting a fast lifestyle. What he didn’t anticipate however was unnegotable family dinners every night at 6:30 sharp.

No matter what happened during the day, they all sat down as a family in the evening. Unless of course there was official Avengers business happening but that wasn’t too often. They would all discus their day and Harley secretly loved it. No matter how hard he rolled his eyes when Pepper called them to the table, stopping their lab work and ushering them back to the family floor.

“How’s Ethan, Pete?” Pepper asked, passing the bowl of mashed potatoes to Tony. The older man’s face hardened some but he didn’t say anything. Harley was there for the day that would live on forever. The one he liked to refer to as the ‘Boyfriend Blowup.’ Tony hadn’t thought 16 was old enough to have a boyfriend and Pepper full heartedly disagreed. In the end Peter was allowed to date Ethan, according to Tony it was only because ‘‘Pepper said yes and I can’t do anything about it.”

“He’s alright, it’s almost his birthday. I’ve been saving up for a gift,” Peter said with a small smile. Over the past couple of months Harley had started to really see Peter in a different light. He had come to terms with his crush on the younger teen, he just couldn’t say anything about it when he had a boyfriend. Harley had come to the conclusion that it was best to keep his mouth shut.

“You know we wouldn’t have minded helping you,” Pepper said softly. “You could just use your bank card.”

Both Peter and Harley had one, they were to separate accounts that Tony and Pepper would both put money in for the boys each week. The only thing Halrey had ever really touched his for was for lunch, sometimes when he wanted a new jacket. Simple things really. He wasn’t sure if Peter ever used his at all.

“Nah, I’ve been helping Mr Delmar sweep the deli after school. He pays my like 10 dollars a day,” Peter said almost bashfully. “I just...you know...wanted to be able to pay for it myself.”

“You got a part time job and you didn’t tell us?” Tony asked cocking his head to the side, lightly pointing his fork at Peter. “You want to work in a deli when I could have just given you the money for his gift?”

“It’s not a part time job!” Peter said quickly. “I just go over there before patrol and clean his shop for an hour and he gives me a little money. I did it before May passed away and...I just never stopped I guess,” Peter admitted.

Nobody says anything for a long moment before Pepper speaks back up. “I think that’s very sweet of you Peter. Did you feel like it would mean more if it came just from you?”

Peter shrugs lightly before eventually nodding. “Yeah, something like that.”

“What are you getting him?” Tony asks, a fond look on his face. Harley notices how often Tony gives Peter that look. That soft warm look that someone could only get from a parent. Pepper and Tony both look at Peter like that.

Of course Harley isn’t jealous, far from it. He’s got a different relationship with them then Peter has. He’s perfectly content with it. And if they see him as their kid too wouldn’t that make his crush on Peter a little immoral? They were his parental figures but also not...if that made any sense.

“A Stark Watch…” Peter says with a small sigh. Even Harley has to laugh along with Tony at that one. While he doesn’t like the fact that Peter has a boyfriend, he does his best to pretend to be happy for him.

**

A few days later when Harley is making his way to his English class he spots Ethan in hall. He’s leaning up against a row of lockers with a few of his friends surrounding them. Harley notices how he’s holding out his wrist proudly, grinning at the shiny new watch.

“Hell yeah man, it’s awesome. You know I was going to break up with him but since his aunt died he’s been living with Tony fucking Stark. That guy is a billionaire so you know his kid must be loaded too.” A few of the boys laugh and nod along. “I’m trying to see what other gifts I can get off him. Maybe a car for Christmas?”

“How much do you think it was?” Someone asks and Ethan shrugs nonchalantly. “Who cares, it was Daddy's money anyway right?”

Harley doesn’t say anything, he just stands back in the corner of the hall, continuing to watch the group of guys laugh and snicker. Something inside of him boils up with anger and hate. He clenched his fists and had to fight down the urge to slam them into Ethan's face. Who did that guy think he was?

The first warning bell rings but Halrey makes no move to head to class. Instead he watches as Ethan and his friends part ways. The group heading back down the hall while Ethan starts to make his way towards the bathroom. It was a split second decision that had Harley following him into the bathroom. He shoved his hand into his pocket and fingered the pocket knife he always carried. The only gift his dad ever gave him before he left.

He lets Ethan slip inside before he follows a few seconds behind him. It’s just his luck, they’re the only ones in there. Silently and without warning he approaches from behind and grabs the shorter teen, spinning him around to face him.

“Hey what the fuck man!?” Ethan yells right before Harley pushes him roughly to the ground. The kid falls down onto the white tile floor and scrambles to get up. Harley is quick though and he’s on top of Ethan before either of them know what’s happening. He digs his elbow painfully into the other’s chest, making it impossible for him to get up easily. Harley pulls out the knife and flicks it open.

“Stop, stop don't! Ethan yells and Harley has to slap a hand over his mouth to keep his shouts muffled. It’s his knees know keeping Ethan pinned down.

“Shut the fuck up,” Harley snaps before pulling his hand away form Ethan's mouth. The only thing the other teen can do is whimper in response.

Harley uses one hand to hold Ethan's wrist flat against the tile and with the other hand he uses to slip the blade of the knife under the leather of his new watch.

A second later and he’s cut through the wristband and he’s holding the watch. “You don’t deserve him.”

“What?!” Ethan asks, gawking at Harley. He imagined that the teen probably assumed Harley was actually going to cut him. “You just stole my watch!”

Harley shoves the watch in his pocket before grabbing Ethan by the shoulders and slamming him against the tile even further. “You don’t serve Peter or that damn watch,” he snaps. “And if I ever catch you around him again, I’m taking more than just your Stark Watch, got it? Do I make myself clear?” He barks, watching as the color drains back out of Ethan’s face for a second time.

He shifts his knee some so that it’s pressing into Ethan’s groin, just so he understands what Harley plans on taking if he messes with Peter again.

“Crystal...crystal clear man, just please get off. You can have them both, just get off.”

Harley does, slowly but surely he lets the teen climb to his feet. He watches as Ethan darts out of the bathroom. He can’t help but feel pleased. Maybe he shouldn’t have done that but he’d felt sick to his stomach when he’d listened to him talk about Peter, the sweetest, most thoughtful, caring person, like that.

A few days later, at dinner, Peter sadly mumbles that Ethan broke up with him. “He never said why, just that we weren’t working out.”

Harley and Peter stay up late watching Star Wars and eating pints of ice cream that evening.

“You’ll find somebody better,” Harley said confidently, letting Peter lean into him.

2

Harley hates it when he falls asleep right after dinner. Mainly because he wakes up fully clothed with the lights and his shoes both on. He runs a hand across his face and blinks tiredly. “Hey Friday?”

“Yes, Mr. Keener?” The AI responds while the teen hauls himself up to sit on the edge of the bed.

“What time is it?” He asks, hoping for the best but expecting the worst.

“It’s 1:15 in the morning, sir.” She replies and Harley sighs heavily. “Is there anything I can do for you?”

“Is anyone still up?” He wondered out loud as he tried to smooth his mussed hair some.

“Mr. Parker is currently still awake. Would you like me to contact him for you?”

“What’s he doing?” Harley askes, not wanting to intrude. He’s not assuming anything but it is 1 in the morning and Peter is sixteen and Harley really doesn’t want to ruin any ‘personal’ moments.

“Mr. Parker is currently working on homework at his desk.” Friday responds and Harley furrows his brow. It’s pretty late and usually Peter has his homework done fairly early. Unless of course it was something he put off to the last minute.

“Alright, thanks,” Harley replies. He toes his shoes off before getting up and heading down the hall. The only thing he can assume is that he’s ran into a few complicated problems and can’t figure them out. Harley has no problem offering his assistance.

He makes his way to Peter’s room, knocking a few times before the door slides open automatically, thanks to Friday. “Pete? You still working on homework?” Harley mumbled, his voice thick and raspy from sleep still.

“Hey, uh, yeah actually. Are you okay? What are you doing up?” Peter asks, putting his pen down and spinning around in his rolly chair. “I thought you were asleep already?”

“I guess I passed out right after dinner,” he sighed, grabbing the other chair in the room and pulling it up to the desk next to Peter. “So now I’m up.”

“Oh,” Peter says softly, sending Harley a small smile. “You still look kinda tired. You’ve got some major bed head.”

Harley just laughs in reply before running a hand through his hair, only succeeding in messing it up more. “I don’t think I can get back to sleep if I tried. So what are you working on? Anything I can help with?” Harley asks, leaning in some so that he could get a better look.

Peter hurried to shuffle the papers even more, shaking his head quickly. “Nah, uh it’s just a math I didn’t get done. I’ve got it under control.” While Peter had tried to hide the evidence, he missed a page in the process. On top the notebook paper is a messy scrawled name. Mathew Jones.

Harley snatches the paper up and holds it out in front of his face to carefully study it. Mathew Jones is the new boy Peter is seeing. They’ve only been hanging for a few weeks, not actually dating just going out on the occasional date. It’s nothing serious according to Peter but they’ve been spending more time together recently.

Halrey hates it but he can’t blame Peter. Mathew is cute and he plays sports, real athletic and charming. Popular too. Everyone seems to like him. He’s in Harley’s grade and he’s got a few classes with him. He’s great according to everyone.

According to Harley though he’s pretty stupid. He still remembered the conversation Mathew and Mrs Smith had last month in class.

“ _Mr Jones, you’re going to have to start paying attention. In this economy you’ll need at a Masters at least if you want to be successful.”_

_“I already have a Mastercard, Mrs Smith.”_

Harley didn’t say anything for a moment, he just turned to look Peter with a frown. Even with the lights at 50 percent he could see Peter’s blushing face.

“This isn’t your homework.” Harley pointed out, setting the paper down and folding his arms across his chest. “Why are you doing your boyfriends homework?”

“Harley,” Peter groaned, shaking his head. “He’s not even my boyfriend...we’re just going on dates...sometimes” Something like that.

“That doesn’t answer why you’re doing his work for him.”

“Because today at school he came to me practically crying and begging me for help with it,” Peter sighed, grabbing his pen and setting the papers back down. “He’s on academic probation and he’s going to get kicked out if he doesn’t get his grades up! And this one assignment is worth 30% of his grade, I really want to help.”

“Helping is not doing his work for him.”

“I know, I know. I just...I felt so bad. I don’t want him to get kicked out.” Peter says as he goes back to work. “I’m just trying to help him out. Not everyone there is like...academically inclined or whatever.”

Harley scoffed before rolling his eyes. ‘Right.’ Harley thinks sarcastically.

“He needs some help okay? It’s not like I do all his homework for him,” Peter mumbled and Harley could tell just by the tone of his voice that wasn’t exactly true.

Harley doesn’t say anything. Instead he just sits quietly next to Peter for a few minutes, getting lost in his thoughts. He’d never ask Peter to do his homework for him. He'd never guilt trip him into doing his math. He’d treat Peter better, he’d appreciate him and take care of him.

Those thoughts were pointless though and eventually Harley grabs a pen starts to work on the next set of questions. For some reason, he’s sitting in Peter’s room at 1 in the morning doing his boyfriends homework and he feels sick to his stomach. But the advanced calculus helps to distract him.

**

They finally finish up at around 3 in the morning, which means they only got about 3 hours of sleep before they had to get up for class. Harley had never been so thankful he took an evening nap before. His heart goes out to Peter as he tiredly stumbles to his first class.

Lunch comes fast that day and Harley sits at his usual table, greeting the few friends he managed to make since moving to New York. It’s the junior and senior lunch period. He could leave campus and get something to eat if he wanted. But he really doesn’t mind just hanging out in the cafeteria for 30 minutes. Even if the school lunch is gross.

Again though he overhears something he shouldn’t. Sitting one table in front of him is Mathew Jones and his jock friends. They’re laughing loudly and smiling. Harley probably wouldn’t have thought anything of it if he hadn’t caught the tail end of a conversation.

“Shut up, I’m not really gay. You know that. Parker is just smart, like insanely smart and I’m about to flunk out of school. I got him to do my math homework last night, thank God, it’s due today.” Mathew stated loudly.

“Isn’t it weird though? Like kissing him and holding his hand and shit...if you aren’t really gay that is.” Someone else says, their voice a little softer.

“You gotta do what you gotta do, right? It’s all about sacrifices, dude. There's no way I would have gotten 7 pages of math done in time,” Mathew says, digging around his bag and pulling out the sheets of homework Harley and Peter had worked on all night.

Harley’s eyes narrow and his fists clench once again. Fuck that.

**  
Mathew is running late for class, Harley knows this because he’s been waiting outside of Mr. McBrides math class for the last ten minute. Having to wait doesn’t really bother Harley though because it just means the halls have cleared tremendously by the time Mathew comes jogging up.

Harley catches him right before he gets to the door.

“Hey!” Mathew yelps when Harley slams him into the lockers. “What are you doing, you psycho!”

“Give me your goddamn homework,” Harley growls, as his fingers dig digging into Mathews shoulders. “Now.”

“What are you 12? You’re going to try to beat me up for my homework?” Mathew says, pushing Harley away. Admittedly, Mathew is much stronger than Ethan but Harley knows he’s stronger still. “You aren’t even in this class! Fuck off.”

This time he really does slam his fist into Mathew’s face. The teen gasps and both hands go to tenderly touch his bleeding nose. “What the fuck is wrong you! I think you broke my nose!” He yells, his voice strained and nasally as he tries to breath through his mouth.

Harley ignores him, instead he yanks his bag away from him and digs through it. It only takes a second to find the homework.

“Are you serious?!” Mathew asks, still not making a move on Harley, instead opting to try and stop the bleeding. “Come on, man.”

“You didn't even do it yourself,” Harely hisses, holding the papers up in his hand, letting Mathews backpack fall to the floor, contents spilling everywhere. “How about next time, instead of begging your boyfriend to do it, you do your own work.” Harley then rips the pages in half right in front of Mathew. He doesn’t give them back though, instead he carries them off with him to his next class.

A few days later Mathew loses his place at Midtown due to his poor grades. Peter had called and texted a few dozen times but he’s sent straight to voicemail and each text message goes ignored. He never does hear from Mathew again but him and Harley work all weekend in the lab, having fun and laughing together. They have so much fun that Peter almost forgets to hurt. Almost.

3

The guy next guy Peter meets is a little harder to hate. He’s tall and handsome. He’s polite and charming. Absolutely perfect. Harley still doesn't like him. He’ll think of a reason late later. The worst part is that he makes Peter happy. He walks around the tower smiling down at his phone and he comes in from their dates practically giddy. It makes Harley feel lower than he thought possible.

His name is Ryan Helms and it’s looking like he might be the one. Harley ignores the lump in his throat and tires to act like he’s not bothered when Peter talks his ear off about him. He grits his teeth and nods in agreement when Peter tells him all the good things about Ryan.

“As long as you're happy,” says with a soft smile. “He sounds great, I’m glad you’ve got him.” It’s a bold face lie but what’s he meant to do?

Harley spends more time in the lab with Tony after that. Peter is pretty busy lately. He’s got homework and patrols and all his free time is spent with Ryan. He doesn’t tell anyone about how much it stings when Peter cancels on their movie night just because him and Ryan have a date.

“Alright, what’s wrong? You’ve been moping around here for days,” Tony says, heaving a sigh and setting down a screwdriver.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Harley says, not bothering to stop what he’s doing to look up at Tony. He doesn’t have anything to say anyway.

“Something tells me it has a lot to do with Peter’s new boyfriend.”

Halrey doesn’t say anything but he does set his own pair of pliers down. He stares down at the blueprint for a new set of modified web shooters. He’d been working on them for a month, he just doesn’t know why. He was going to surprise Peter with them but he’s not sure it matters anymore.

“Did I guess right?” Tony asks, looking at Harley expectedly.

“Who cares about Peter’s dumbass boyfriend anyway?” Harley scoffs, still not bringing himself to look Tony in the eyes. He’s not surprised the man knows, they are connected after all.

“Better not let Cap hear you talking like that. You know you could just tell Pete you like him, you’d save yourself a lot of grief.”

Finally Harley has to face the man. “Pete doesn’t like me. I wouldn’t be saving myself anything. By keeping my fat mouth shut I’m saving myself the humiliation of being turned down.”

“You ever heard that saying? The one about missing 100% of the shots you don’t take?”

“Okay, I really don’t need a motivational poster right now.” Harley grumbles, grabbing his pliers again and setting off back to work.

“Alright, I’m not going to harp on you about it. But I might remind you, you’ll kick yourself in the ass later when you keep thinking about what might have been. It’s better to try and fail than to never put yourself out there in the first place.”

Harley can’t really find the words. He doesn’t know what to say, but he knows Tony is right. Everything the man said sounded really good and inspirational, but it’s easier said than done.

“I don’t really like Ryan either,” Tony mumbles before they let the silence fill the room again while they work.

**  
Harley really doesn’t mean to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Trust him, he’s sick of over hearing conversations he shouldn’t. But Midtown isn’t nearly as big as people think. He’s running laps in gym when he hears kaylee Larson talking about her date.

At first Harley doesn’t think much about it. The girl jogging a few paces behind him is ranting and raving about the great guy she’s going out with.

“We went out last weekend too. He’s so hot. Honestly, I can’t wait until Friday. We’re going out to eat at the Golden Table then we’re going to the movies.”

“You’re so lucky,” her friend says wistfully next to hear. “I wish I had a nice guy to take me out. What’s his name again?”

“Ryan, he’s in our year.” She answers back.

“Ryan?” Her friend asks. “You mean Ryan Helms? Kaylee he’s literally eye candy.”

“Mhm, that’s the one,” the girl giggles.

“Wow, what time are you going? Are we still getting our nails done?”

“Oh yeah, we’re not going until 8.”

Harley turns his head around to look at the girls. “Ryan Helms.” He mumbles to himself. He’s already formulating a plan.

**  
Harley is standing outside the restaurant at 7:30 sharp. For once he kind of hopes that he’s got the wrong guy. That the girl from gym is going to show up with some stranger and Harley can go home and forget it ever happened.

But he only knows so many Ryan's and he can only think of one Ryan Helms. The same guy who canceled on Peter last weekend with the excuse that he was ‘feeling sick’ the same guy who came over for dinner three weeks ago. They all ate goddamn chicken alfredo together.

The one Peter is pretty much head over heels for.

Harley waits there for thirty minutes and right at 8 the two walk hand in hand. At first they don’t notice him but when Ryan sees Harley he pales. His mouth opens like a fish out of water, gaping and closing quickly like he’s trying to come up with an excuse. Harley knows that Ryan knows Harley knows. He knows he’s cheating.

“Harley?” Ryan finally mumbles. “What are you doing here?”

Harley doesn’t answer any questions and he doesn’t ask any either. Instead he punches Ryan square in the mouth. Kaylee screams as Ryan stumbles back out of surprise and pain. “Give me your phone!”

“Dude!” Ryan yells, covering his mouth, looking around frantically for help. “What are you doing?!”

Harley pushes him down and meets him on the ground while Kaylee yells above them. Ryan doesn’t put up much of a fight when Harley takes his phone out of his pocket and slams it on the cement, shattering the screen.

“What is wrong with you!?” Ryan demands while they both hurry to stand. Ryan’s lower lip is bleeding and he looks shaken.

“I can’t stand a cheater.” Harley spits and Ryan at least has the decency to look ashamed. “So here’s what’s going to happen.” He starts.

“You’re going to call Peter, call him not text him, and break up with him real proper like. Be a gentleman about it, you’re going to let him down nice and easy and you’re going to do it tonight. Or I’ll do it for you.” Ryan opens his mouth like he’s going to try to say something but Harley steps closer and shuts him up. “And if I have to do it for you, he gets the full story.”

Kaylee’s eyes widen before her face turns into an expression of anger. “What’s he talking about?” She snaps, spinning around to look at Ryan.

But Harley isn’t done making demands. “Now, listen up because this is the important part. If I ever catch you around Peter again, if you ever talk to him again, if you ever so much as look at him, your face is going to look like this phone. Busted.” He says, holding up the phone for Ryan to see. Afterwards he shoves it in his pocket and walks off. Behind him he can hear the couple fighting over what just happened.

He gets back to the tower late that evening. He can already tell that Ryan must have called. Tony and Peppers door is open and he peeks in when he walks by. The three of them are sitting together on the bed, Peter’s eyes look red and Tony and Pepper just look sad. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me. Everyone breaks up with me.” He mumbles. Harley hangs his hand as he lingers in the doorway. He knows Peter’s noticed him.

“Hey, he just wasn’t the right one.” Pepper whispers, gently and Tony pulls the teen a little closer to him.

“I really liked him.”

“I know,” Tony whispers.

Harley doesn’t intrude on the moment any longer. He lets Pepper and Tony comfort their kid for awhile. He’s about to fall asleep in his own bed when Friday’s voice comes in through the speaker.

“Mr. Keener, Mr. Parker is asking for you.” She says softly and Harley is up and out of bed in seconds.

They don’t say anything but Harley holds Peter closer and lets the younger teen sob heartbrokenly into his shirt. He rubs his back and places a kiss to his soft curls and tries to say words of encouragement. This was what he had wanted. But why does it hurt so much?

Oh yeah, because Peter is heartbroken, that’s why. He would give anything to keep him safe from pain like this. He can’t help but wonder if he did the right thing this time.

Inside his room, on the top shelf of his closet is a growing collection. Next to a Stark Watch and a ripped up homework assignment now sits a smashed phone.

  
4

“You look good,” Harley said, leaning up against Peter’s door. It was the night of the homecoming dance and Tony and Pepper had pulled out all the stops for Peter. His hair was perfectly styled thanks to an actual stylist, courtesy of Pepper and he was dressed in a Tom Ford, that was Tony’s pleasure.

Peter just shrugged but offered the older teen a shy smile. “It’s a dance, everyone is going to look good.”

“True, but you’ll look better,” Harley stated confidently. “You practically radiat cool.”

Peter laughed and shook his head. “I don’t understand why you aren’t going. It’s homecoming, everyone is going.”

“I know,” Harley mumbled, walking the rest of the way into Peter's room, absently looking at things. “And you know how I feel about dances. I’d rather attend a funeral and I hate those. So that should tell you something.”

Yeah that was it. Harley just hated dances. The fact that Peter had a date had nothing to do it with it. The fact that Harley didn’t think he could stand to watch him dance with someone that wasn’t him meant nothing.

Peter rolled his eyes and sighed. “I know, I know. You hate dances. But you could still go. You might actually have fun.”

“Somehow I feel like I’d have more fun getting a root canal than going to some stupid dance.”

Peter didn’t any anything, he just gave Harley a look before sighing. “I still wish you were going.”

The two didn’t say anything. Instead Harley started towards the door. “Sorry, Pete. I don’t even know how to dance.”

Casey Callaster is meant to be showing up at 7 and Harley wants to be tucked away in his room before then but Pepper and Tony are having none of it.

“You guys really didn’t have to go all out for me. It’s just homecoming. And this suit? How much did this cost?”

More than Harley’s first car. He seen the receipt but he has no plans on telling Peter.

“I don’t want you to worry about that. It’s your first dance, you needed something fitting,” Tony said, giving Peter that soft parent smile. Pepper and him have taken probably 2 dozen photos already.

“It’s not prom or anything. It’s just a dance,” Peter stressed again, shoving his hands in his pocket as he glances at the wall clock. It’s 10 minutes till 7.

“Hey, it’s still special!” Pepper said, pulling Peter in for another hug.

Harley probably would have went but he just can’t. He really can’t and nobody but Tony understands. When he told the two he wasn’t planning on going they looked disappointed and even tried to talk him out of his decision a few times.

Eventually Pepper stopped pestering him about it but Tony kept sending him looks. He knew they were both thinking about the night in the lab. All about what could be if Harley would just get his shit together.

“Harls, you’ve still got some time, you sure you don’t want to go?” Pepper asked. “We could pull something out of Tony’s closet if you wanted.”

“I thought we agreed to a night in? Playing board games, drinking mocktails, and eating all the junk food, one of every kind?”

Pepper laughed and Tony clasped a hand on his shoulder. It was 5 minutes till 7.

“Alright, alright. Go stand next to Pete, you’re still getting your picture taken. Hoodie and jeans regardless.”

They sat in the living room and pretend not to notice the time. That was until MJ and Ned showed up, looking excited. Ned looked great, fedora and all. And MJ was beautiful in a short yet classy. Tony had insisted that Happy take them in the limo. The only problem was that it was 7:20 and there was no sign of Casey.

Now both Pepper and Tony were looking concerned and Ned and MJ look nervous. Peter’s hiding it well but Harley can see the strange mixture of stress and fear and sadness behind his eyes when he smiles.

“There must have been a misunderstanding,” Peter finally mumbles at 7:40 “I guess maybe he thinks we’re meeting there?” He says it like a question, hoping that somebody will agree and that he’s not being stood up.

“I'm sure that’s it,” Pepper says quickly, no trace of pity or worry. She sounds professional and stern, like she wants Peter to believe her. She wants to convince Peter that he’s right because it’s going to hurt too much to be wrong.

The group shares a look before one last round of photos. Then Happy is ushering them out the door and to the car. Harley watches from one of the large panoramic windows.

Pepper stands next to him, watching as Happy pulls the large sleek limo out of the parking lot. Tony is standing in the corner looking freely pissed now that Peter is gone.

“You think he got stood up?” Harley finally asks.

Tony just walks off, like maybe he’s mad that Harley isn’t the one talking Peter. Maybe if Harley had gotten it together and just asked Peter himself none of this would have happened. His kid’s heart wouldn’t be broken if Harley had asked.

“I hate boys,” Pepper whispers, smiling sadly at Harley.

**

True to their word, Harley, Tony, and Pepper are sitting at the kitchen table playing Uno and actually having a fun time when Harley’s phone goes off. He looks down at the screen and realizes it’s MJ. He quickly answers, setting his hand of cards down for a moment. “What’s up?” He asks, hoping that nothing is wrong. “Did that guy show up?”

“Oh he showed up alright. He’s currently making out with a boy who’s definitely not Peter by the punch bowl. His excuse was that he ‘accidentally’ forgot to tell Peter that he changed his mind and wanted to take someone else.”

“What?” Harley asked, his voice horse and his eyes wide. “Is Peter upset?” He asked, causing Tony and Pepper to sit up a little straighter.

“He’s thinking about leaving. He says he’s okay but I can tell that he’s upset. He’s just sitting on the bleachers watching everyone dance.”

“Shit…” He mumbled, mouthing a ‘sorry’ when Pepper gave him a disapproving look.

“How fast can you get here?”

“Don’t let Peter leave, I’ll see you in 15,” Harley said before hanging up.

Both Pepper and Tony were looking at him with worry and confusion.

“I need a suit.”

**  
It’s a shit show because Harley owns about 0 suits in total. And he’s tall...and Tony isn’t and they don’t have time for a tailor. Not even Tony can get one there fast enough. So the only thing Tony owns that doesn’t come up past Harley’s ankles is a baby blue suit that looked like it was made in the 80s. Tony’s only reasoning for it was ‘hey I’m a trendsetter, it looks great on me.’

Even so, Harley feels like it looks ridiculous on him and it’s still a few inches too short. He tries not to complain too much because a suit is a suit and at least the white shiny shoes fit right.

Pepper speeds down the highway, Tony in the passenger seat with Halrey in the back. Tony looks completely comfortable with his woman’s reckless driving but Harley is fighting back the motion sickness. That or the nerves. Because he wasn’t lying. He really didn’t know how to dance.

The next thing he knows though is that he’s standing in the middle of a packed gym, music blasting while about 200 plus kids dance around him. He’s never felt more out of place, he’s starting to second guess himself. What was he thinking?!

Suddenly he spots Peter sitting alone on the bleachers. He’s staring off into space and Harley can see the sadness. So he does what he has to. And he dances. It’s terrible, he knows it’s terrible but he’s going to go with it. He’s going to make it work.

He bobs his head to the beat before shaking his leg in a move that might actually be from the 80s. It’s a hybrid between disco and an off brand Mick Jagger move. He’s gotten the attention of a few students already but he’s not done yet. He starts to hop along, ignoring the building panic. What was this move again? A bunny hop, a thrash dance? Harley can’t be sure. He tries some two steps before wildly moving his arms.

Lots of people are looking now, so is Peter though.

Harley keeps it up. His head still nodding to the beat as he gets closer and closer to Peter. The other teen is staring at him now, his mouth open in shock as he watches Harley. Ned and MJ are watching too, Ned looks confused but MJ is smiling and nodding in approval so he must not be too terrible.

Not only is Peter watching but so is more than half the gym. He blocks out their surprised expressions and focuses on what he’s doing. His dance moves are either killer or so bad that their somehow good. He thinks he can even hear a few students clapping and cheering him on.

Harley jumps around again, something similar to what you’d find at a punk concert and finishes it off with a dab and a spin before dropping to his knees right front of Peter. He holds his hand out for the other boy and tries to catch his breath. “Do you want to dance with me?”

Peter doesn’t say anything, he just smiles and nods before taking Harley’s hand.

**  
The night is a success in Harley’s opinion. His moves are still questionable but he improvises a slow dance for Peter and it’s completely worth it to see his eyes light up with happiness. He’s a true gentlemen, he gets Peter punch, he dances, and he never takes his eyes off the other boy.

He’s finally rewarded with a soft kiss on the cheek. “Thanks for coming, Harley. It means a lot to me.” Peter whispers during another slow song. “I was about to go home.”

“Man I’m really glad you didn’t, I would have looked like a total idiot dancing out there like that if you hadn’t been here.”

“Well…” Peter trials off teasingly.

“Implying that I looked like an idiot anyway?” Harley laughs.

“Never.” Peter says. There is something so soft and warm in his voice that Harley nearly melts. They smile softly at each other and continue to sway to the music until the song ends.

“I’m going to run to the bathroom real quick, you’ll be okay here for a second?” Harley asks and Peter laughs again.

“Yeah, I'm fine now dork. Go to the bathroom. I’ll be here when you get back.” Peter says, giving Harley a gentle push towards the door.

Harley doesn’t go to the bathroom though. Instead he stops by the gym’s equipment room while nobody is looking and then makes a Beeline for the parking lot.

He can still hear the hum of ‘1000 Miles’ by Vanessa Carlton while he’s outside. The cool air is almost a relief from the stuffy gym.

It doesn’t take long to find what he’s looking for. A candy red sports car parked smack dab in the middle of the of the parking lot. Not just any candy red sports car though. Casey’s candy red sports car.

He slows down and drags the baseball bat he’d grabbed against the gravel. “And I need you,” he hums before approaching the car. “And I miss you,” he sings as he slams the wooden bat against the windshield. “And now I wonder.”

Harley slams the bat down against the hood a couple times, making sure it’s dented beyond repair. He continues to sing as he breaks the headlights and then each window. He isn't satisfied until the car looked like it had been in a high speed collusion. The teen finally takes the bat to both side mirrors. He smashes one mirror until it’s hanging freely and then hits the other until it falls off completely.

Harley tosses the bat into a nearby push but he picks up the broken mirror and heads back inside. He stashes it in his locker for the night and heads back to the dance. If the school’s security cameras had somehow been temporary disabled during the event, well you can thank MJ and Ned for that.

It’s safe to say that Peter never speaks to Casey again.

 

5

Harley would have liked to think that after the dance he would have managed to tell Peter how he felt. He wanted to believe that after that night all the pieces would fit together and he would have found the right words to say to Peter. Somehow, sadly, he never does and things slowly go back to how they were before.

Peter starts seeing another guy, one named Nick this time, and they slowly fall back into the same pattern. Harley mopes around, Tony gives him the ‘look’, and Peter is just as happy as ever. Until it all falls apart.

It’s almost the end of school and Harley is still determined to tell Peter that he likes him. Boyfriend or not this time. He just doesn’t know how he’s going to do it. Because out of all the guys Peter has dated or went out with, Harley hates Nick Haggar the most. He doesn’t know why but there is something about Nick that Harley can’t stand. He’s arrogant and he’s self centered and Harley has only met the guy once but that was enough.

Nick doesn’t even go to Midtown. In fact Harley is pretty sure Nick doesn’t go to school anywhere. He’s even stupider than Mathew and that’s saying something. Everyday though he shows up at Midtown with his stupid skateboard and his stupid face and Harley just wishes he’d fuck up so that he could break the guys board or something.

When the last bell rings Harley and Peter find each other in the hall and walk each other out of the building. He knows that eventually Nick will be there but at least he knows Peter will be at home in the evening. Nick gets him for a few hours after school but Harley gets him every other hour. Harley knows that he’s been there long before Nick and he’ll be there long after Nick. He tries to keep that in mind while him and Peter chat.

It’s a warm sunny day and Harley would probably ask Peter if he wanted to go do something if it wasn’t for Nick. But he smiles as they sit down on the steps outback and talk about their latest lab project. Peter rambles on about Spiderman duties and the homework he got from Ms Jinkins. Harley just stares quietly. Because God Peter is really perfect. His soft brown eyes and his wavy hair that verges on curly right after a shower or when he hasn’t fixed it with gel. Why is it so hard to find the words?

“Hey, are you okay?” Peter suddenly asks and Harley is snapped out of his thoughts.

“Huh? Yeah of course, why wouldn’t I be?”

“Well because I said your name like three times and you just kept looking at me. I don’t even think you blinked,” Peter said with a short laugh. “What’s on your mind?”

“Nothing,” Harley says with a sigh.

“Are you sure about that?”

Harley doesn’t say anything for a long moment. He looks at Peter and then he looks down at his shoes, then back at Peter and then at the line of buses that’s picking kids up.

“Actually there is something I’ve been meaning to tell you,” Harley mumbles. This is it. This the moment he’s been waiting for. He’s going to spill it all, right here, right now.

“What is it?” Peter asks softly, his eyebrows furrowed in concern. “Is something wrong?”

“Not exactly,” Harley sighs. Suddenly he realizes how close their sitting. Their legs are touching and Peter’s so close that all Harley would have to do to kiss him is lean in. He suddenly decides that maybe words aren’t the right approach. Maybe he should just show Peter exactly how he feels.

So leans in even closer, inch by inch. He’s just about to tilt his head and close his eyes when someone’s voice interrupts the whole thing.

“Peter...are you ready?” It’s Nick. Of course it is.

The other teen is looking at both of them with confusion but also something close to anger. He doesn’t say anything but his eyes narrow in Harley’s direction.

Harley isn’t scared. Far from it. He scoffs and glares right back.

“Hey, yeah just a second...what were you saying?” Peter asks, looking back at Harley. They’ve created some distance now but they’re still sitting close together.

Harley just shakes his head. “Nothing, I’ll tell you later okay?” He muttered. “See you at home.” With that he gets up and starts walking off. He needs to clear his head.

He walks for hours. At least that’s what it feels like. Happy's already asked him twice if he needs a ride and each time Harley’s texted him back with a simple no. He checks in with Tony though and lets him know that he’s just stretching his legs before going home.

‘Alright, just be back before dinner. Call if you need anything,’ he texts back and Harley shoves his phone back in his pocket. He doesn’t foresee himself needing absolutely anything at all.

But the weird thing is, is that after that his phone goes silent. Not Tony, Happy, Pepper, not even Peter text him after that. Which is odd because it’s six o'clock almost and at least one of them would be reminding him about dinner right about then.

Harley finds it odd but instead of calling or sending anymore messages, he just makes his way to the tower. He was never very far anyway. One short bus ride later and he’s right on time.

He expects to be greeted with Peppers warm cheery voice and the smell of a home cooked meal. Instead though when the elevator lets him off at the penthouse level he’s welcomed with the sound of yelling.

Instantly Harley hurries inside. Ever since he moved in Pepper and Tony never actually yell. They argue, they have hushed fights, but they never outright yell anymore. Harley knows it’s because him and Peter are there. So it’s almost terrifying when he hears Tony yelling.

When Harley gets to the living room Peter is sitting on the sofa with an ice pack of his eye. Pepper is sitting next to him, dabbing at his bloodied lip with a tissue and Tony is pacing the floor.

“What happened?” Harley asks, instantly thinking that it has something to do with Spiderman.

“That Nick kid hit him, just about beat him up,” Tony all but spits.

“What...your boyfriend hit you?” Harley asks. He has some kind of outer body experience while saying it though because he can’t ever imagine actually saying those words to Peter. It doesn’t feel like it’s him who’s saying it.

“Guys, please, everyone calm down. It’s not that bad, I heal fast remember?” Peter says and he chokes out a laugh but it’s wet and Harley thinks he’s on the verge of tears.

Harley is confused because it doesn’t make sense. Peter doesn’t get beat up. Not by boys. Sometimes by criminals but Tony always saves him if it gets bad and Pepper makes him hot soup and tea and Bruce comes in and fixes everything if it’s real bad. One time all the Avengers sent him get well gifts when he got really hurt one night.

But boys don’t hurt Peter. They don’t put their hands on him and they don’t leave bruises on him.

Harley is clenching his fist so tightly that he can feel his nails breaking the skin on his palm. “But...you could have-”

“It doesn’t matter what Peter could or couldn’t do,” Pepper says, quickly cutting Harley off. “He’s enhanced,” she mumbled afterwards, like that sums everything up.

“I’m going to go take care of this,” Tony says, moving towards the door like he’s about to leave.

“Seventeen Tony!” She shouts. “Nick is seventeen, you aren’t going to do anything.”

“I don’t care if he’s 97!” Tony exclaims, throwing his hands up.

“No,” she says softly, wrapping an arm around Peter. “It’s unethical. We’re going to call the police like we talked about.”

“Unethical,” Tony says, shaking his head. Then he looks at Harley and he pauses like he’s thinking.

“Yeah, it would be unethical for /Peter/ or /I/ to handle this problem. Understand what I’m saying?” He says while making eye contact with Harley. “It’s unethical because we have an advantage. Understand?”

And Harley understands perfectly. Because him and Tony are connected and nothing else needs to be said. It’s a silent permission.

“Harley!” Both Peter and Pepper yell when older teen darts out the room and towards the elevator. He’s not sure if anyone tries to stop him because he’s already down 30 floors and dashing out of the lobby doors within minutes.

He closes his eyes as he runs, focusing on the sound of his feet hitting the pavement. His lungs burn and he can’t see anything besides Peter’s pretty brown eyes, all bruised and red because of some dick. He runs until he’s out of breath. He doesn’t know how he knows where to go but he does.

Okay, he does know why he knows. Because Nick is an asshole who spends every evening at the skate park.

He pauses right outside the park, just catching his breath. He grips the chain link fence and watches for a few minutes. There are few people there but Harley couldn’t care less. A few minutes later he walks around to the entrance.

Nick is there on the stupid board of his, trying his hand at a new trick.

Harley runs down into the cement bowl, causing a few other skaters to crash to the ground just to avoid running into Harley. They shout angrily at him but he doesn’t care. Nick hadn't noticed him yet, he’s got headphones shoved in his ears. Even better.

He doesn’t expect it when Harley knocks him down. He doesn’t even have time to voice his complaint or outrage because Harley his throwing fists, slamming them down painfully into the other’s face. His knuckles catch Nick’s teeth and he’s sure they’re bleeding but he doesn’t stop.

Everyone around him is silent and the only sound he could hear was his pounding heart and the sound of his fist colliding with skin. Nick struggles a bit but Harley is on top of him and he’s got a few pounds on the other. He’s pretty sure he’s yelling, maybe calling Nick a bitch. Something like that anyway. Nick tries to get a couple hits in but he can’t manage when he’s pinned to the ground.

Harley knows he should probably let the other up, make it a fair fight and all that. But was it fair when he hit Peter? Was it fair when Peter couldn’t even defend himself because it was ‘unethical?’

“Give me your shoes!” Harley finally says, getting off Nick and hauling him up into a standing position just so he can knock him back down.

“What?!” Nick yells, not bothering to stand back up. He’s got his hands up in defense like he’s worried Harley is going to come back for more. He’s bloody, he reminds Harley of Casey’s candy red car.

“I said,” Harley says slowing his words down. “Give me your shoes.”

“Man alright, alright! Take em” he shouts frantically, pulling his sneakers off and throwing them down beside Harley. They’ve got a bit of blood on them now but it doesn’t matter.

“Never let me see you again. Get it?” Harley asks, picking the shoes and tucking them under his arm. “Not around Peter and not around me. Because if I ever see you again? I guarantee you, you aren’t going to be walking home next time.”

Nick just stares at Harley with resigned fear before he shakily stands up. “Alright man, I get it. Lay off...I get it,” Nick says, reaching for his board.

Harley is quicker though and snatches the board up only to throw it across the park. “I said walk.”

And Nick does. Nick takes off with no board and no shoes.

He thinks Pepper calls the police anyway. Harley isn’t sure whatever happens to Nick but he never sees him again and that’s all he cares about.

 

+1

When Harley gets back in that night everyone is still up. He’s worried he’s about to get in trouble by Pepper for beating Nick up, he doesn’t have to tell them what he did. They already know. Hell, Tony pretty much told him to. But she just smiles sadly at him when she sees his bruised knuckles. “You need a bandaid?”

“Nah, I’m okay,” he says softly. Tony comes up behind and ruffles his before clasping a hand down on his shoulders.

Harley knows everything is okay when Pepper tells him that they ordered pizza and that he should eat.

“I will, I’m just going to see Pete first,” he says and both adults nodded.

He isn’t sure if Peter really wants to see anyone but Harley /needs/ to see him. So he lets himself into the other’s room. He knows that if Peter truly wanted to keep Harley out, he would have locked the door.

“Hey,” Harley mumbled, taking in the scene before him. Peter is curled up in pajamas, his bruised face is already looking better. The swelling in his lip went down and the dark black and blue around his eye is already starting to fade into a light purple and green. “I brought you something.”

Peter looks up confused for a moment before Harley holds out the shoes to him. It takes Peter a moment to understand what they are but slowly he reaches out and takes them. “Are these…?”

“Nicks,” Harley answers before taking a seat next to him.

“Why did you take his shoes?” Peter asks, inspecting them and wrinkling his nose when he sees the blood.

“Felt right,” Harley says with a shrug. “Are you okay?”

“I’m alright,” Peter sighs. “I’m sad but...I’m okay.” Peter takes a deep breath before going on. “It was because he thought I was flirting with you. That’s why he did it.”

“You know I couldn’t hit him right?” Peter says as he drops the shoes down on the floor.

“I hit him for you,” Harley says softly.

“I can tell...are you going to put those in your closet?”

“The closet?” Harley asks while raising his eyebrows.

“I went to borrow a hoodie tonight, you know, after you left? I seen all the weird stuff up there. I know what you’ve been doing.”

“And what have I been doing?” Harley asks looking at Peter with earnestness.

“You got a cut up watch, you got a shredded homework assignment, a busted phone, and a car mirror.”

“And now I’ve got a pair of shoes.” Harley adds with a smile.

“You don’t have to fight my battles, you know that right?”

“I do, I know that,” Harley says quickly. “I just...I just had to you know?”

“No,” Peter said, shaking his head. “I don’t know.”

They don’t say anything for a little bit. Harley doesn’t know how to make Peter understand why had to. He just stares down at the shoes.

“Hey Harley?” Peter asks, wrapping his arms around his knees and curling up a little tighter against the pillows. “What were you going to tell me today?”

“What was I going to tell you today?” Harley asks, repeating the words back to Peter.

“Yeah,” the younger teen whispers softly.

“I was actually uh...can I just show you?” Harley asks, feeling a flush raise to his cheeks.

“Yeah,” Peter says, like he’s expecting Harley to do something very specific.

The other teen slowly leans in and presses his lips against Peter’s. He moves them so slowly and carefully, like he’s waiting for Peter to pull away. He doesn’t though. At least not right away.

“Ouch,” Peter says softly, bringing a hand up to his lip when they do part. “Sorry, it’s still a little tender.” He mumbles but he’s smiling. God he’s smiling and it’s so pretty and bright and Harley just knows he did the right thing.

“That’s what I was going to tell, or show you anyway,” Harley said, offering Peter a smile of his own.

Peter leans back in and gently presses his lips back against Harley’s. It’s a light touch, barely there but it’s a kiss nonetheless.

“Does that mean you like me back?” Harley asks, his heart beat speeding up because he’s still kind of scared that Peter is going to say no.

“Yeah, I like you back,” Peter whispers and grabs onto Harley’s hand. “You can stop breaking stuff now, no more beating people up.”

“I’d wreck anything and anyone who ever hurt you. If I hurt you I’d kick my ass.”

Peter snorts and rolls his eyes. “Yeah, for some reason I believe that. But you don’t have to anymore, right?”

Harley would never hurt Peter. It’s physically impossible.

“Right.” He agrees.

They don’t say anything but Harley pulls Peter closer, Peter rests his head against Harley’s chest in return. He briefly thinks about what Tony told him that day. He’s grateful he took the shot because for once in his life he didn’t miss.

“Boys Boss is requesting that you both report to the kitchen for pizza.” Friday says. Peter groans but forces himself to part from Harley.

Harley does the same and they climb off the bed together. Peter’s already out of the bedroom but Harley stops to grab the shoes. He’s still keeping them.

 

 

 


End file.
